Follower block



March, 10,I 1931.

D. s. BARRows FOLLOWER BLOCK Filed May 1e, 1927` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @d @.5WW wm s. M n L March 10 ,1931. v D. s. BARRows 1,795,822

FoLLowER BLOCK Filed May 16, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 10,y1931 Daitarn' s, yisilitiwws, olioofiiisTEiR, NEW Yoii{`,filssieiion :doTHE siiiiiaon coiaP'ANY, or NEW YORK, N.'Y., A com?oiziitrion'or1MARYLAND Appiic'afioll fired iway 16,

Thisinteiitiqreiate n l ging and morepartiiilarly, to ,a follower'so'oiatedf difaift' for .for es therebetween and providing meansioroon-:L

neeting tlie draft gear with the'urdegrfranie of the l car. I

The principal @Ejea 'f myinvnabn, gaierally-considereol, to provide yafollower block for railway draft in wliiliftlie endl Walls' tliereof areconnected together by giving a frusto-pyramidal elle`C'tCe'rtaiiiL of fisaid Walls beingpiefera'bly inclined transl vrseli and( dsfalaliliffvedab, 'that Said structure maybe approximately cylindrical orfrusta-conical.

follower blool; v for railway draftfrigging'in wliiclithe front andrearwallstliereofare joinedy a hollow lapfprfoXiniately cylindris` calweb forrigidifyingtbe lstrliioture thereofy for"y 3properly transmittingforces between said front and rear walls.

Another .Qbieft my investi@ is te; Dra: Yide a Jiollower blockliavingfront, and rear walls joining .a holler appleexmatlif ',Cyliria drioal,structure rneetingsintermediate por;

tions oft saidwalls,V strutnre inter-rv rupted to provide atransverselyextending. I u l i r .A

, 2,' showing still'anotlier modification of my' slot for receiving anassociated draft ley further objectof my invention is to .pro-

vide a Afollower ,bloclt lfor railwaydraft rigging` comprising end wallsand side walls con?,

neoting'said endwallslv said side walls joinedby a Webbedportionprovidinga slot for the reception l et an'. associated draft 'lr`ey fyention relating'to the parti'eul'ar arrangeproperly reinforc!- @theirobjects 19h27'. ySeriai Nel 1913525.y

will b'eeoiiieapparent as' tli desorijtion prof-i` o tudinaly ,seetion,''snowing' agkfollowfer 'bleekA ergbo'iyiig'my iiiyentijtii l the' batterai asSQ'-, elatedy coiipler,.tliefiontend' o'f'an' as" Cf tedcrisliioiiing" device,v andfaiiassoei tedfd'raft life"` beineillustrated `diagranffinaticially) by l dotand dash lineslm i i FigureQ'is` an end elevation,v pfartlyin' s'e'c tionof the follower'bloc'lt'on theilin 52x-Qy of Figui@ 1'@ 11V 4 'A Figure lia)fraglnentary .se'ition'al View COYGSPQDQ i0, .FigiireA 2, biitvshowing a slight odiiication.

Fieiilesg and 6' eeffragnntary, viis Corresponding respectivelytoFigures l andy 2,bu't. slfrowing` another ii'iofflifica'tion.Y l

@Figures 7 and are' fragmentary. views correspondingrespectively, toFigures I and 2; 'showing a further inoditication.J

',Fgures-HQ an'ed'llOl, are fragmentary views@ corresponding,respectively, to Figuresl and 2, showing' a stillfurtlier modiiication.'

igiir'es l1 and l2 are fragmentary views,

corresponding, ife'speetively7` to vFigures l and 2', sligwing'anadditional modification. .y i, *k Y ,Figures 13 and 1,4 are fragmentaryviews',

Corresponding,respectively,l to 'Figiire's 1 and,V

igiirell is' a fragmentary view Corre" spending to' Figure 2 andlshowing'l a stilly further embodiment of Inyinventiong l leferring toVtlie'ydrawings' in detail', like parts" being designated bywlilrereiferenceyv eliaraeterg and rfirst oonsiderfing the e1nbdiinentof myinvention illiistrated in Figres 1*,2 and 3,'tl1ere shown affront,lfollower bloei.; the front lend"l of which ,is adapt-ed for engagementwith. the :butt of a lcoupler 2; iifidicateclv cliagraniinatioally byvdot .and dash lines;'and'thei"ear face or wall of whichis adapted toengage the front end of a draft gear or cushioning device 3, indicateddiagranimatically by dot and dash lines. The follower block 1 isprovided with a transversely extending slot 4, adapted to receive adraft key 5, indicated diagrammatically by dot and dash lines. Such ablock is adapted for use with Farlow two-key or three-key draft riggingsuch as illustrated, for exani ple, in the Patent No. 1,126,663 to T.l-l.l Symington or in the latent No. 841,757 to l. O. lVright et al.but, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to suchforms of draft rigging nor is it limited to use as a front follower for,upon slight modification, for example such as suggested in the PatentNo. 1,293,300 to D. S. Barrows, it may be utilized as a rear follower.

Considering the drawings, it will be seen that the front end of theblocl must resist the load from the relatively small butt of the couplerand, as said coupler angles in every direction, there is applied to thefront end of the block, whenrthe coupler is under buff, concentratedloads which successively but irregularly act on the front wall of saidblock along the path of an approximate circle. On the rear wall of theblock, the entire bufling load frequently has to be resisted where saidwall engages the small end of an associated draft gear or cushioningdevice which is properly considered in the form of a relatively smallcircle, which circle may approximate the circle upon which the buiiingfor-'ce from the coupler is applied. n

In order to properly take care or the forces which are required to betransmitted through I the block in accordance with the foregoingexplanation, I have provided for the substanf. tially directtransmission of said forces from one end wall to the other. A preferredem;- bodiment of the invention comprises utilizing a longitudinal hollowsubstantially cylin-r drical web connecting the front and rear walls ofthe block, interrupted, however, at its sides to provide a slot for thepassagel of an associated draft lrey. T he walls of this cylindricalstructure may be an expansion of the walls which provide the slot orthey may be superimposed on said walls above and .below the same butpreferably involve an expansion of said walls rather than asuperpositioning thereon because of the difliculty o-f securing andventing the segmental cores necessary. in the case of superpositioning.My invention, however, is not limited to the use of a hollow cylindricalweb as any practical structure, approximating a circular or multi-sidedprism, certain of the walls of which are inclined transversely of theblock, may be employed instead of a hollow cylindrical struc'- ture. Ifdesired,` and especially when the engaging ends of the coupler andcushioning device are much different in size, the structure may befrusto-conical or frusto-pyramidal so that the junctions between theconnecting structure and the end walls of the follower blockapproximately underlie, respectively, the peripheries of the engagingcoupler and cushioning device.

With the above considerations in mind, it will be seen that the form offollower block illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 involves a front wall6, the front face of which, when the block if adapted for use as a frontfollower, is preferably provided with a forwardly extendingcoupler-engaging and centering lug 7 of any usual or desired character,and a rear wall 3. Connecting the vertical or side edges of the walls 6and 3 are side walls 9 and 1G, said side walls, in turn, beingpreferably connected by a hollow webbed structure 11Y in which the slot4 is provided.

The follower blocl is advantageously, al-` tliougli not necessarily,provided with a top wn il or web 12 and a bottom wall or web 13, saidwall in the present embodiment, diver-gin `glitlv from the front wali 6to the no l., L .j p' eaL wane, as inustiated particuiai y in ig- Forrigidifying the block andproviding for the more direct transmission offorces between the walls 6 and 3 thereof, a hollow structure 14 isprovided extending longitudinally of the bloclr between the walls 9, 10,12 and 13 thereof and joining intermediate portion of said end wall Saidstructure, in the present embodiment, is substantially cylindricalexcept that portions thereof are omitted for permitting the slot 4 to becontinuous between the side walls of the block. rl`he sides of thecylindrical structure 14, therefore, merge with the adjacent portions ofthe transverse hollow structure 11 as indi- 1 cated at 15.

The upper and lower portions of the cylindrical structure 14 arepreferably bracedV and connected to the upper and lower webs 12 and 13,respectively, by preferably vertical webs 16. Longitudiiially extendingpreferably vertical webs 17 are desirably provided intermediate the webs16 and the side walls of the block, whereby said top and bottom walls,said transverse webbed structure 11 and said longitudinal approximatelycylindrical reinforcement 14 are rigidly tied together. ln order toprovide for core-removal and lighten the weight of the casting 1, theside walls 9 and 10 are preferably apertured above and below the slot 4as indicated at 18 and the intermediate webs 17 are correspondinglyapertured as indicated at 19.V Although the webbed structure 11 isdiscontinued after it joins with the cylindrical reinforcement 14, yetthose portions of said structure, adjacent the ends of the slot 4, arepreferably continued the full width of the block 1 as indicated at 20. Y

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figure 4,a follower block"` is` there: shown" .which be identical withv thatVillustrated in Figures 1", andy 3f except that two wa-ibsjl'taare"employedv con-y ,3 necting the cylindrical structure '111'T with thetop and bottom walls'rather than merely a single webr 16 as previouslydisclosed. Inasmuo'h as Figure 4 only-shows the top half of the casting,there is illustrated only the e. top wall lfthetop portionof't'l1e`trahs5 verse slotted hollow web? 11a, the side walls 9a and10ffand the frontdwall'l. It will noted" that, in substituting Atwovconnecting webs 16 for the one web, that pfortion vof the longitudinallyextending cylindrical'` rein- A provided',saidfwallsl 9a and 10 and thewebs forcement 14u-between said webs isiomitted to facilitatecore-removal.y As ingthe previfous emb0diment, intermediatelongitudinally. extending vertical webs 17e may be 17a-beingapertured asindicated at`18a, and

19a'for asimilar purpose. 1 ,l f -v Referring now tothe embodiment of myinventionillustrated in'Figures 5 andr 6, a

construction'identical withthat of the em-A Referring now. togtheembodimentof my invention'illustrated in Figures/y and v8, a'

construction is there disclosedr which is identical with 1 that shown1in Figures 1, 2 and 3 except that the cylindrical reinforcing portionis replaced by a .hollow four-sidedprism ofprismoidalweb 14C, the wallsof said structure preferably extending' at an .angle offorty-iive'degrees with respect .to the' slotted transversereinforcement 11c which connects thesidewalls 9,c and 10G. vAs in the:first embodiment,the upper and lower portions of said hollowprism v14@are connected to the upper and lower walls,l the'upper wall 12',3 onlybeing illustrated, by means of aLV web 16C. Except a-s specificallydescribed, the construction of the present embodiment maybe identicalwith lthat 'of the first embodiment.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figures 9and 10, a

construction is there disclosed in which a hollow prismlfdconnectingpthey frontwall 6@ and the rear wall 8d ispiovided instead ofthe hollow cylindrical structure 11i of the first embodiment. Said prism14d, in the present embodimenh'has atop-'wall 15d and the side wallsareformed by, or merged with,y

the, intermediate longitudinally extending webs 17d. lAs inthefirstembo'diment, kof

course',l the sidewalls ofthe4 prism are inthe lower section (notaffilata tiene aa of ai@ tat;'sveglivalleie-` forcemen'tll and saidtransverserandlon'-v gitudina'l reinforcements merge together.v at ytheir intersections, `that portion of the trans'- verse'V reinforcement11d, between the side walls' of the prismy or the intermediatewebs' 17dof the followerglbeing omitted asl in, the irstf embodiment'. The topvand bottomwalls ofthe reinforcing prisinllld 'mayy be, respecf tively,connected to the vtop and bottom walls is illustrated, longitudinally'extending'- webs 16d` aperture'd'as indicated at 2,1y to fal-u cilitatecore-removal and lighten the'weight of the 'ca-sting'.L `Except asspecifically described, the' construction 'of the presentem# bodimentmay be identical with that of the first] embodiment. l

m-,Referringfno'w to the embodiment invention illustrated in Figureslland 12, a construction is therel disclosed which is substantiallyidentical' with; that ofthefirst] embodiment except thatV thetransverse" slotted'4 reinforcement '11e fis" continued through 'thelongitudinal cylindrical reinforcement 14e and provisionfo'r; holdingand rem"o'vingthe core, betweensaid longitudinal andy transversereinforcern'ents',v` is' made by an" aperture 21e in the longitudinalweb 16e connecting said cylindrical reinforcement 14 with the top 22,'151'0 provide access :to-the corespace between said rein-.forcement andthe slotted transverse reinforcement 11e.

Y and bottom walls lof the-"follower, the top wall 12e only beingillustrated. ThisV aperture 21e is'continue'd' through the cylindricalvreinforcement 14:e` as indicated at 'i Except as specifically s ofthefollowenthe t'op ywall12d only oifwhichy *"7 sag aff

described,the construction of the-present' embodiinent may besubstantially identical withV that of the first embodiment.

invention illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, a

constructionV is there disclosed in which the; longitudinalyreinforcement 111f is plus or star-1 shaped'rather thaincylindrical orprismoidal as invthejother embodiments. YThat is, said tudinal webs 111rwhich preferably merge,` respectively, adj acentthe top and bottom ofthetransverse slottedreinfor'cement 11f, flaring upwardly and 'downwardlyto, respectively,

y uit Referring now to the embodimentv of my j .longitudinalreinforcement involves longiy intersect and merge with the top' andbottom walls of the follower, the top wall 12,.t only being'illustrated.Said webs 1415 preferablyV incline at angles of approximately forty-fivedegrees with respect to said transverse remforcement 11f. In the presentembodiment, the construction may be considered to corre-l i spend withthat illustrated in Figures 7 and 8', thevwalls ofthe hollowlongitudinal Aprism 14c there' shown lbeing revolved' through ninetydegrees with the centers of said walls maintained in substantially thesame position. `Inotherk words, the reinforcingvwebs 14" of the presentembodiment function substantially like the walls of the hollow prism 14Cof Figures 7 and 8 except that they are inclined Vat ninety degrees withrespect to the inclination of the referred to embodiment.

In the present embodiment, theouter ends of the webs lef may beconsidered as merging with the intermediate webs 17f and the centrallongitudinal web 16f does not connect with the reinforcement lef. Inthis case, the reinforcing webs ltf are preferably apertured, asindicated at 22fito provide for coreplacing and removal. The rear ordraft gear engaging end of the follower may be provided with a lug 23for engaging in a corresponding aperture in the front of the associatedcushioning mechanism or draft gear and holding the same in properassembled relation with respect thereto. It will be appreciated that theemployment of said lug 28 is analogous to that of the lug 7for couplerengaging purposes and such a. lug may be used on any or all of theembodiments of my invention here illustrated or contemplated or all ofsaid embodiments may be unprovided therewith. Except as specificallydescribed, the construction and function thereof may be substantiallyidentical with that of the first embodiment.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figurel5, a construction is there disclosed which is substantially identicalwith that of the first embodiment except that the reinforcement 14g,connecting the front and rear walls of the casting, is a hollowhexagonal prism rather than a hollow cylinder, that is, the walls ofsaid structure preferably slope from the central longitudinal web 16gtoward the intermediate longitudinal webs 17g, meeting said latter websat points above and below the transverse slotted reinforcement 11g. Itwill, therefore, be apparent that the only material diderence betweenthe, embodiment here illustrated and that illustrated in Figures l, 2and 3 is that the webs, defining the hollow reinforcement 14g, are planeand angularly disposed with respect to each other forming a hexagonalprism rather than being curved to form a hollow cylinder. It will beappreciated, however, that said prism may be considered as anapproximate cylinder in that the walls thereof follow closely thecontour of a cylinder so that it functions in substantially the samemanner. The connecting web 16g, instead of being imperforate, is formedwith apertures V21g above and below the transverse slotted reinforcement11g for lightenin the weight of the casting and facilitatinglcore-removal. Except as specifically described, the construction of thepresent embodiment may be identical with that of the iirst embodiment.

In accordance with the foregoing disclosure, it will be observed that Ihave provided a form of block which is particularly adapted toeliiciently transmit stresses between the end walls or faces-when forcesare applied either from the coupler Vto the front wall thereof or fromthe cushioning device or draft gear to the rear wall thereof. Of course,the longitudinal intermediate reinforcement, which is preferablycylindrical or approximately cylindrical either in actual contour or infunction, is particularly adapted for transmitting forces from one endwall directly to the other but it will be understood that,'when draftforces are applied to the gear, said forces are efficiently transferredfrom the rear wall of the block, through the longitudinal reinforcement,to the transverse slotted reinforcement and, from thence, through theconnecting key to the underframe of the car. Although this form of blockis peculiarly adapted to the ordinary form of coupler butt, it is alsodesirable for use with any coupler, for example one having a swivelbutt, inasmuch as with increasing severity of service, an increasedcolumn area for the direct transmission of is desirable. Althoughseveral desirable embodiments of my invention have been illustrated, Ido not wish to be limited to the exact features there shown asmyinvention broadly comprises all formsembodying the spirit of myinvention embraced within the scopeV of the ,appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claii l. A follower block forrailway draft rigging comprising end walls adapted to engage the butt ofan Vassociated coupler and the end of an associated cushioning device,and webs extending longitudinally between said end walls and spaced toleave a slot for an associated draft key, said webs, intermediate thesides of the block, being spaced more widely apart so as to moredirectly transmit stresses between the end walls received, respectively,from the butt of said coupler and the end of said cushioning device.

2. A. follower block for railway draft rigging comprising end wallsadapted to, respectively, engage the butt of an associated coupler andthe end of an associated cushioning device, web portions connectingintermediate parts of said end walls and provided with a slot forthereception of an associated draft key, certain portions of said websbeing inclined transversely with respect to said slotted portions forefficiently transmitting stresses between said end walls.

3. A. follower blocl for railway draft rigging comprising end wallsadapted to, respectively, engage the butt of an associated coupler andthe end of a cushionino' device, and webs extending longitudinallybetween intermediate portions of said end walls, portions of said websbeing inclined transversely of the bloclr in order to directly transmitstresses between the end wallsv thereof. Y

4. A follower block for railway draft rigging comprising end wallsadapted to, respecasl directly transmitting forces received thereon'from one wall to another.V

5. A follower block for railway draft rigging comprising endwalls'adaptcd to, respectively, engage the butt of an associated couplerand thel front end of an associated cushioning device, a hollowapprovimately cylindrical structure extending between said walls andoining intermediate portions thereof for directly transmitting forcesreceived on one of said walls to the other, said structure being formedwith a transverse slot for receiving an associated draft key. Y

6. A. follower bloeit for railway draft rigging comprising end wallsadapted to, respectively, engage the butt of an associated coupler andthe end of an associated cushioning device, sidewalls extendinglongitudinally and joining the vertical edges of said end walls, atransverse webbed structure oining said side walls and slotted for thereception of an associated draft key, and 'a longitudinally extendinghollow approximately cylindrical structure connecting said end walls andintersecting said transverse webbed `structure intermediate said sidewalls.

7 A follower block for railway draft rigging comprising end wallsadapted to, respectively, engage the butt of an associated coupler andthe end of an associated cushioning device, top, bottom and side wallsextending longitudinally and connecting the corresponding edges of saidend walls, and a hollow approximately cylindricalr structure extendingbetween and joining with said end walls, at the ends thereof,betweensaid top, bottom and side walls for directly transmitting forcesreceived on said end walls and rigidifying the block.

A8. A follower block for railway draft rigging comprising endwallsadapted to, respectively, engage the butt of an associated couplerand the end of an associated cushioning device, side walls connectingthe corresponding edges of said end walls, websextending substantiallyparallel to said side walls and connecting intermediatey portions ofsaid end walls and additional webs extending diagonally from said firstmentioned webs and connecting intermediate portions of said end wallsfor rigidifying the construction anddirectly transmitting forces betweensaid end walls.

9. A follower block for railwaydrafty rigging comprising end walls, oneof which is adapted to engage the end of an associated cushioningdevice, side walls connecting said tending transversely toward thecenter of the -ally and longitudinally between said end walls anddisposed between the Lipper and lower edges thereof, eachv web having aportion between the side edges thereof spaced a greater' distance fromthe other web than the remainder to efficiently transmit forces loetweenthe vend walls.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

DONALD S. BARROWS.

end walls Vand slotted for the reception of 'an 'l associated draft key,said slottedfportions ex-

